Afraid of Poetry? Start Here. {guest post}

By Charlotte Donlon | Twitter: @charlottedonlon

I have always loved poetry, but I have also always been afraid of poetry. When I started graduate school three years ago, one of my assigned readings was T.S. Eliot’s Four Quartets. I was terrified of not understanding Eliot so I read Tania Runyan’s How to Read a Poem, too.

I managed to make it through that first residency and those first class discussions without embarrassing myself too much. I was also able to let go of my insecurity enough to learn a few things about Eliot and his work.

The MFA in creative writing program at Seattle Pacific University gave me many gifts. One of those gifts is poetry, even though my primary genre is creative nonfiction. After reading Eliot, I kept reading poetry. I wrote papers about poetry. I discussed poetry. I even became friends with poets.

I can now say I’m no longer afraid of poetry. I need it. I need to swim in words and language and ideas, and reading poetry is the easiest way for me to sink into those seas.

When I read poetry, I slow down and pay more attention to words and their sounds and their places in the world. I also pay more attention to my places in the world.

Poets invite me to enter their waters and discover more about them, more about myself, and more about the spaces between us. They invite me to make new connections and think about things from different perspectives.

They invite me to consider what happens if we don’t worry about rules, get rid of punctuation, and sit with the silence that exists between stanzas.

Over the past couple of months, my relationship with poetry has deepened. I began writing poetry and I taught a poetry workshop at my local library. I had no idea these sorts of things would ever happen. I guess sometimes we end up doing things we never could have asked or imagined. I guess our actions have consequences.

If you have been interested in exploring poetry, but have been afraid to dive in, please don’t hesitate any longer.

Here are links to some of my favorite poets and some of their poems:

Come on in. The water feels great.

***

What about you? Who are your favorite poets?

Charlotte lives in Birmingham, Alabama with her husband and their two children. She recently earned an MFA in creative writing from Seattle Pacific University, and she does freelance writing and copywriting. You can find her online at www.charlottedonlon.com, on Twitter at @charlottedonlon, and on Instagram at @charlottedonlon. You can sign up for her weekly email newsletter about reading, writing, and creativity via her website at charlottedonlon.com.

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Our theme for April is “Books and Writing,” and I hope to share my favorite books, podcasts and resources for new writers. Click here if you’re new to the series and want to catch up on old posts. Be sure to follow me on social media and sign up for my newsletter below so you can be alerted of new posts. Please get in touch at scrapingraisins (dot) gmail (dot) com if you are interested in guest posting on this topic!

**This post includes Amazon affiliate links

June 27, 2017

Book Review of ‘Enjoy’ by Trillia J. Newbell

Why do we sometimes have a difficult time enjoying the one life we’ve been given? If we’re not working harder, looking elsewhere or planning for what’s next, we’re feeling guilty about the blessings we do have.

These are the essential questions Trillia J. Newbell explores in her book, Enjoy: Finding the Freedom to Delight Daily in God’s God Gifts. In plain and forthright language, she discusses our obligation to enjoy our work, relationships, sex, art, God, possessions, food, and environment. She concludes each chapter with reflection questions and practical assignments, which she calls “The Enjoy Project.”

This book gives permission to relax and receive the good gifts God has given us.

What I Liked

Trillia seamlessly weaves Scripture throughout the book, supporting each point with several examples from the Bible. She seems very familiar with this material and the book often reads like a talk she may have given to a group of women at a conference or retreat. I most appreciated the chapter on sex and the one on work, because I think Christians often do not understand how God wants to use each of these to His glory.

How to Read this Book

Rather than reading this book in isolation, I believe it would be a better book to read with a group. It could be read over a five-week time period, reading two chapters at a time and then discussing the questions at the end of each chapter, doing the suggested activities, and using the discussion questions provided at the end of the book. The book and questions provide a great launching point for women to intentionally go deeper in reflecting on whether or not they are truly enjoying the gifts they’ve been given.

Not My Favorite

Personally, I would give this book three out of five stars. Perhaps it is because I have been a Christian for so long, but I don’t feel like I learned anything new. I also felt like the writing was a bit lackluster and cliché, with an overuse of exclamation marks. But in spite of its simplicity and predictability, I know I would have gotten even more out of it if I had read it with a group.

I recommend reading this as a light book to discuss with a group of women who want to take a break from a more structured Bible study format. I would also recommend it to a new Christian with questions about how we are to feel towards the blessings lavished on us in the west or to someone wrestling with guilt over how their hobbies, interests or artistic leanings fit into God’s plan.

If you like Christian self-help type books or need a reminder that God doesn’t want you to flee the world, but to enjoy the gifts He is extending to you, then Enjoy might be the book for you.

*I received a free copy of Enjoy from Blogging for Books in exchange for this honest review.

**Includes Amazon affiliate links

June 6, 2017September 9, 2018

Ten Writing Tips from The 10 Minute Writer’s Workshop Podcast

Recently I’ve been binge-listening to the NPR podcast The 10 Minute Writer’s Workshop. In it, the host, Virginia Prescott, interviews famous writers about their writing process. She begins each podcast with the question, “Which is harder to write—the first sentence or the last?” Many of the writers chuckle and answer, “the middle!”

Here are some of my biggest takeaways from the hours I’ve spent listening to these talented writers over the past couple weeks:

1. The best way to become a better writer is to be a prolific reader.

2. The other way to get better at writing is to write. There are no shortcuts to sitting in your chair and doing the work.

3. The worst thing new writers do is give up.

4. You have to find what works for you when it comes to daily rituals (though most wake up very early in the morning to write).

5. Every writer said the final product is usually far different from the first draft. They spend a lot of time editing and revising their work. It’s okay to write a shitty first draft (as Anne Lamott talks about).

6. Don’t just write what you know (like so many people advise).

7. Sometimes saying something simply is the best way to say it.

8. When they are stuck, they mix up the routine: go for a walk, change locations or switch from a computer to free-writing in a journal.

9. At least five writers mentioned Anne Lamott’s book Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life as a book for writers to read. Other books mentioned more than once were The Writing Life by Annie Dillard and On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King. (I’ve read them all and agree!)

10. Many writers expressed that the work takes on a mind of its own and that they are simply a conduit for the words to get themselves onto the page and out into the world.

If you are a writer, teacher or student of writing, I would highly recommend this podcast for ideas on finding your writing flow. Each time I listen, I walk away encouraged and more motivated to share my words with the world.

What’s the best writing advice you’ve ever received? Which of these tips most resonates with you at this stage of your writing career?

Check out this podcast to hear quick, fascinating interviews with some of these writers: Salman Rushdie, Alexander McCall Smith, Anita Shreve, Patti Smith, James McBride, Joe Hill, Judy Blume, Jodi Picoult, Colson Whitehead, Krista Tippett and many others!

**Contains Amazon affiliate links

July 28, 2016

Monthly Mentionables {July}

What a month.

Doesn’t it feel a bit like fear is steering the ship?

If you’ve forced your eyes, ears and heart open like I have in spite of longing to turn off the news, jump back in bed and binge on T.V., then you may be feeling like fear is delivering us straight into the darkness.

But an image has helped me not to be overcome by hopelessness. Sitting on our back porch in the early hours of the morning recently, I re-read the familiar words of Psalm 139 about God searching me and knowing me, knowing when I sit and rise, etc. But seemingly new words reached out from the page, grabbing my chin and speaking straight to my doubting face as David cried out to God:

“Where shall I go from your Spirit?
    Or where shall I flee from your presence?
⁸If I ascend to heaven, you are there!
    If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
⁹If I take the wings of the morning
    and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
¹⁰even there your hand shall lead me,
    and your right hand shall hold me.
¹¹If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me,
    and the light about me be night,”
¹²even the darkness is not dark to you;
    the night is bright as the day,
    for darkness is as light with you.”

And it hit me: God sees in the dark.

He does not stumble blindly, knock into the coffee table or stub his toe.

God has night vision.

In fact, darkness is not even dark to Him, but is as bright as the day. We are never alone in the darkness. Although we cannot see the way ahead, Someone is walking with us who can.

God has used some of the following books, podcasts and articles this month to encourage, challenge and grow me. Many of them have been twinkling lights in the darkness. I hope you find the time to click on some of the links and I’d love to read some of your recommendations in the comments section!

Books:

Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faithby Anne Lamott

This was my first Anne Lamott book that I picked up at our local Little Free Library. Irreverent and honest, Anne invites her readers on a refreshing faith journey that does not hide the bumps and bruises she receives along the way. Having attended churches full of squeaky clean Christians most of my life (and having been one myself), I appreciated having a peek behind the curtain at how Jesus meets with other sisters and brothers before they get all cleaned up (and even when they don’t).

Ruthless Trust: The Ragamuffin’s Path to God by Brennan Manning

Brennan Manning does it again and manages to combine extensive research, deep spiritual truths, an incredible vocabulary and jarring images to present a message of grace lived out by a life of tested faith. I loved the chapter titled “Artists, Mystics and Clowns” because of my husband’s background in acting and my love of writing, but thoroughly enjoyed the entire book as I absorbed short passages with coffee in the wee hours of the morning this month.

Podcasts:

A Mom’s Mission Field
This podcast was new to me this month. The host, Tiffany Castleberry, brings on guests who do not believe that being a mom and following God’s call on your life are mutually exclusive. I especially enjoyed the following episodes:

Flower Patch Farm Girl Blooms in the City: Shannan Martin
I loved this interview with Shannan Martin and am looking forward to her new book coming out this fall called Falling Free: Rescued from the Life I Always Wanted. She’ll also have an essay in this book full of other amazing writers called Soul Bare: Stories of Redemption by Emily P. Freeman, Sarah Bessey, Trillia Newbell and more, edited by Cara Sexton.

A Sweaty Conversation about Racial Reconciliation: Retha Nichole and Emily Thomas
Such a great conversation between two white women and an African American woman about race relations following the shootings earlier this month.

Following Your God Dreams while Raising a Family: Tricia Goyer
This was the first episode I listened to of this podcast and I loved the way the women talked about following God’s calling on your life in the midst of raising a family.

Code Switch: Race and Identity, remixed
Extra: No Words (reflecting on the shootings of Philando Castile, Alton Sterling and the 5 policeman in Dallas)

Pass the Mic
I discovered this podcast the day after I published this popular post on race resources for white people and I really wish I had included it in the list! What I appreciate about this podcast is that not only are the hosts completely candid about discussing race in our country, they also come at it from the perspective of how a Jesus follower should learn and move forward when it comes to race issues in our country. Here were a few episodes that were especially helpful in filling in blanks for me:

Defining White Privilege

Defining Systemic Racism

Roundtable: How to Be a White Ally

Real Hurt, Real Hope: Racial Tension and Perseverance (reflecting on the shootings of Philando Castile, Alton Sterling and the 5 policeman in Dallas)

Shalom in the City with Osheta Moore
#14 Seeking Shalom for the Immigrant
Loved this interview with a woman married to a man from Guatemala and her experience working in immigration in America.

#16 Everyday Practices of Peace for the Homeless
If you’ve ever interacted with homeless people or are have questions about how we should think about homelessness in America, this interview with a woman who has worked in homeless ministries and public health for 20 years is a great source of further education in this area.

Village Church Sermons
Justice and Racial Reconciliation (from the week of the shootings of Philando Castile, Alton Sterling and the 5 policeman in Dallas)
This panel discussion was healing balm to my soul after that rough week. I’m thankful for Jesus followers who are not afraid to have the hard conversations.

What Should I Read Next? with Anne Bogel
#31 Lifetime Favorite Books and reading for a living with Adam Verner
Everyone should listen to this episode featuring my hubby, audio book narrator, Adam Verner! I’ve listened to Anne’s podcast since January and it dawned on me that my husband would be the PERFECT guest since he’s an audio book narrator and devours books even when he’s not working. He had a great conversation with Anne that I know you’ll love (though I’m slightly biased);-).

(No New Recipes This Month…did I mention that I’m 8 months pregnant…?)

Thought-Provoking Articles from the Web:

A Letter to My Son, (an African American man’s letter to his son), by Rev. Otis Moss III for Huffington Post

A Week from Hell, by Charles M. Blow for The NY Times

Delayed Kindergarten Enrollment Dramatically Reduces ADHD in Children, Study Shows for The Inquisitr

Lacrae: Humility is the Key to Understanding Race Relations: Guest Essay, by Lecrae for Billboard

[Love Looks Like] Choices, by Sarah Bessey

Misogyny in Missions, by Jonathan Trotter for A Life Overseas

My Husband Isn’t Called to Ministry, by Cara Meredith for Christianity Today

The Truth of Loneliness, by Liz Ditty for The Mudroom

Verge Network 7 Part Series on Racial Justice

White Fragility: Why Its So Hard to Talk to White People about Racism, by Dr. Robin Diangelo for The Good Men Project

The 5 Truths Stay-at-Home and Working Moms Can Agree on, by Katelyn Beaty for Her.Menutics

10 Ways to Live Well, by Amy Young for SheLoves Magazine

38 Resources to Help Your Church Start Discussing Race Today by Missio Alliance

Just for fun (language alert!)

God Makes Animals (these are the types of things my husband finds on the Internet)

New (to me) Websites and Blogs:

Good Black News
This site is pretty self-explanatory and shares wonderful things that are happening in the African American community. For example, this article mentioning that some black women will be acting in the movie adaptation of one of my favorite books, A Wrinkle in Time.

Reformed African American American Network
Along with offering the podcast, Pass the Mic, that I mentioned above, this site is a treasure trove of resources on race relations in America.

White Allies in Training
This site offers a ton of resources for white people looking for more information about racism and how they can be involved in being a bridge towards reconciliation in America.

A Life with Subtitles (blog for Sarah Quezada)
I heard about Sarah on this podcast about marrying an immigrant and working in immigration and ran straight over to her blog. This is a great blog for anyone working, living or loving in a cross-cultural setting.

D.L. Mayfield (personal blog)
I am currently reading her book, Assimilate or Go Home: Notes from a Failed Missionary on Rediscovering Faith (due to be released in August), and really enjoying it! More on that later;-) I absolutely love her wry and honest writing style and can really relate to so much of what she writes about as she worked for years with refugees in America.

In Case You Missed it on Scraping Raisins:

70+ Race Resources for White People
“It’s time.

Maybe you read a news article on your Facebook feed or listened to a podcast and feel it’s time for you to finally DO something about the injustices in our nation.

Perhaps it is time for that.

But our African American sisters and brothers have asked that before we speak, we be sure that we have done something else first: educate ourselves...” continue reading

I once was (color) blind, but now…
“As white people, we brag that we are “colorblind” and congratulate ourselves for being inclusive and tolerant. Because we don’t actively hate, abuse or reject those of another color personally, we would never call ourselves “racists.” We say we see everyone as the same and silently assume that everyone, deep down, is like us.

But as we boast that we are colorblind, what we are blind to is that color really does matter. People are treated certain ways simply because of the color of their skin.

My journey toward sight began as all breakdowns of prejudice inevitably must: through a relationship…” continue reading…

A Muslim in Our Home
“Perhaps the only difference between our Fourth and yours was that we spent ours with a devout Muslim who is currently living in our home, a close friend whom our children call “Auntie Boo.” She lived with us for a year in Chicago and is now staying with us for a month after recently finishing her studies in Denver. We invited her to celebrate the 4th of July at my parent’s house a few hours away in the middle of the Rocky Mountains…” continue reading…

~~~

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June 10, 2016

My Friends are Books: Finding More Time to Read

We’re on vacation this week (without kids!!!) and I’m pretty sure we’ve been to a bookstore every day. The first time we giggled with glee at the fact that we could even aspire to enter a place with so much to pull off the shelf and destroy. Having small children certainly makes you appreciate the perks of a quiet, adult life. We’ve also spent a ton of time just reading. For hours. It’s been divine.

My husband and I call books our “friends.” When we decided to declutter and minimize our possessions before our move last year, my husband sifted through more than one thousand of these old pals to choose which ones to say goodbye to. It was a painful parting.

Just as any relationship evolves, so, too, our on-going affair with reading. I was that kid in elementary school, narrowly missing smacking into other students as I walked the hallways with my head buried in a book. I read billboards, cereal boxes at breakfast and shampoo bottles in the shower. Anything with words would do.

I inherited this lifelong love from my mom, an ardent book lover. She drove my dad batty on family vacations. While weaving through forests of giant trees, beside chattering brooks and over gigantic mountains exploding with wild flowers, he’d nearly veer off the road with his rubber-necking, while my mom’s head would be bowed in the passenger seat, lost in a book.

Though I was content to read Babysitters’ Club books, my mom usually thrust the classics under my nose before buying another cookie-cutter series book for me to read in an hour. Island of the Blue Dolphins, Caddie Woodlawn, The Witch of Blackbird Pond, A Wrinkle in Time, Jane Eyre, Charlotte’s Web, Little House on the Prairie, Anne of Green Gables, and Little Women were my companions when I wasn’t pretending I was a gymnast on the fence in our backyard, collecting caterpillars or making up dance routines with my childhood best friend, Natalie. The courageous girls in these books were my sisters and literary friends.

The rigors of high school and college then usurped the ability to choose my book friends and I was forced to get to know those books I wouldn’t have chosen for myself: Fahrenheit 451, The Handmaid’s Tale, Crime and Punishment, The Great Gatsby, Animal Farm, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Odyssey, Othello and The Scarlet Letter. These friends weren’t as easy to get to know and being with them sometimes made my brain hurt. But just as befriending “difficult” people changes, challenges and stretches us, these books transformed me.

When you graduate from college, the thought that you can read anything you want is liberating after four years of forced reading lists. The freedom! So in those years after college and before masters studies, I leisurely caught up on the books I had missed while I was entrenched in academia. This was in the days before Netflix, Facebook or Twitter where wasting time meant first going to the video store, then coming home to put a DVD in the video player and curling up on the couch to veg out. It was almost easier to just grab a book.

Apart from my three years of masters study, my adult reading life has been slow, but continual. But because I read so much less than in years past, the books I spend time with must be worthy partners. They must educate, inform, inspire or be utterly engrossing. Life is too short to read books you hate.

And as writing has become more a part of my life, I’ve been surprised to find the pace of my reading pick up as well. I’ve always known that writers read, but it’s been amazing to find that though I have less time to read, I’ve found ways to fill in the chinks in my day that were once allowed to remain empty (or more likely filled with social media). Here are some ways I’ve been able to do that.

3 WAYS TO READ MORE

Read More Than One Book

One way I’ve done this is to read several books at one time. After listening to the popular podcast What Should I Read Next? where the host, Ann Bogel, interviews readers about their reading life, I noticed that most of them laugh when she asks them what they are currently reading. “I’m reading six books right now!” they usually say. Their reasoning is that they always have a book ready to fit their mood.

So I am giving it a try. Here’s what that looks like for me. I’m reading a devotional-type book in the mornings after I read my Bible. Right now, that’s Ruthless Trust, by Brennan Manning. I have a nonfiction book like The Writing Life by Annie Dillard, ready to read with breakfast if I don’t need to talk to anyone (which rarely happens). I have a more engrossing book, like The Invention of Wings, by Sue Monk Kidd, that requires a bit more head space to read for a few minutes with tea after I put the kids down for their naps. Finally, I have a book on my night stand, The More of Less, by Joshua Becker, that I can groggily read a few pages of (3 minutes, according to my husband) since night is not my ideal time for engaged thought.

And it’s working!

Read in Different Formats

In addition to surrounding myself with a variety of book friends, reading in many different formats has also helped to accelerate my ability to read more. If you always have a book or two on Kindle on your phone, then you always have a book with you to read. This has been great for standing in long lines, waiting in the car in the parking lot as my husband jets into the store to run an errand or if I sit down on the couch and realize my other book is too far away. And if you download the audio book of the same book on audible, then the book will sync up and enable you to listen while you’re driving around, then go back to Kindle format when you get home.

Keep a List

Finally, keeping an up-to-date list on Goodreads allows me to quickly choose the next book to put on hold at the library. My children already know that mommy and daddy usually have books on the hold shelf to retrieve before their story time at the library and they happily carry our books to the check out counter for us.

Reading is a satisfying love affair. More than just a way to escape daily life, it changes my perspective of people, God, and the world. What are some ways you are keeping up this affair in your life? I’d love to hear!

~~~

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On (most) Thursdays this year, I’ll share thoughts, tips and inspiration for writers. I’m certainly not an expert, but am simply seeking personal encouragement in this art and want to share with anyone who’s also trying to find their way as a writer. These short posts will come from books, articles, the Bible, my own thoughts, and other people. Subscribe in the upper right corner so that you don’t miss a post. If you’re new to the series, find all the posts here. Come meet me in the comments–I’d love to read your thoughts on writing.

Happy writing!

Leslie